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questionmark 11,361

questionmark 11,361

KABUL — A new Afghan army-issued guide explains to soldiers here that when their Western counterparts do something deeply insulting, it’s likely a product of cultural ignorance and not worthy of revenge.

Eleven years into the war in Afghanistan, NATO troops and Afghan soldiers are still beset by a dangerous lack of cultural understanding, officials say, contributing to a string of insider attacks that have threatened to undermine the military partnership. Fifty-one coalition troops have been killed this year by their Afghan counterparts.

To address a laundry list of cross-cultural pitfalls — and to avoid their potentially fatal consequences — the Afghan Ministry of Defense this month introduced a pamphlet called “Cultural Understanding — A Guide to Understanding Coalition Cultures.”

The 18-page training guide, written in Dari, will soon be distributed to Afghan military leaders across the country. The booklet will be taught in three one-hour sessions to all soldiers as well as new recruits

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and then 28,147

and then 28,147

Maybe for those troops who will be staying awhile longer? Better late than never and if it saves a few lives by explaining things to these savages then maybe it's worth it - or are you more interested in seeing the US being forced out under humiliating circumstances?

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Mantis914 903

Mantis914 903

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You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners. Plato

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Neognosis 653

Neognosis 653

Do we have something for our troops that says that american troops should not be offended when some afghan tribesman stones his own daughter and cuts off her head because she went outside without being completely covered and said hello to someone?

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Br Cornelius 5,908

Br Cornelius 5,908

Do we have something for our troops that says that american troops should not be offended when some afghan tribesman stones his own daughter and cuts off her head because she went outside without being completely covered and said hello to someone?

It maybe barbaric and indefensible - but why the hell is the American troop there in the first place to be offended ?

It is not the duty of the enlightened west to reform countries we don't like - that maybe hard to swallow but its a simple fact.

Br Cornelius

Edited September 28, 2012 by Br Cornelius

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Idano 97

Idano 97

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If life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
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DieChecker 19,323

DieChecker 19,323

It maybe barbaric and indefensible - but why the hell is the American troop there in the first place to be offended ?

It is not the duty of the enlightened west to reform countries we don't like - that maybe hard to swallow but its a simple fact.

Br Cornelius

We should have used the time tested methods of winning... Kill off most of the population, put the rest into Reservations and occupy the land ourselves. Historically this works. Historically what has not worked is trying to rebuild and change a nation that does not want to be changed or updated.

Or, simply blew up those who were involved in the Terrorism and the national infrastructure.... and then left. Repeat as needed.

You are quite right, because as I demonstrated again everybody is getting all riled up about the headline and most don't even bother to read the content. And in the content lies the reason why no empire ever could "civilize" Afghanistan.

CommunitarianKevin 443

There are people whos inteligence far out weighs anyone on this MB, who dont believe in the entire theory of evolution. Its not necessarily a good measuring stick to decide ones intelligence.

A. Observation: There is potential for rapid reproduction. (For a quick example look at bacteria or the cells in the human body, for a slower example look at the population growth of the world.)

B. Observation: There are relatively constant resources and population sizes over time. (As stated above, resources are limited and any given area only has so many resources. It is observed in nature that animal populations stay relatively constant over the course of time due to the limited resources.)

C. Conclusion based on A and B: There is competition for resources to survive and reproduce.

D. Observation: There is variability in structures and behaviors. (This is obvious because no 2 people are alike unless they are identical twins but even they differ. People and animals are different.)

E. Conclusion: Natural Selection-On average the “fittest” organisms (Fitness in Biology refers to the number of offspring or the amount of genes passed on to future generations,) or those with the most beneficial structures leave the most offspring.

F. Observation: Some variability is inherited. (This is obvious because we inherit traits from our parents. Genes had not been discovered at this point so Darwin did not know what they were. His theory of “genes” is the part of his theory that was wrong but when we discovered genes, they supported his theory.)

G. Conclusion: Evolution-The genetic makeup of the population changes over time, driven by Natural Selection.

Which part of the theory here do they not agree with?

Edited September 29, 2012 by HuttonEtAl

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Gummug 2,091

Gummug 2,091

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"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy" -- Shakespeare

There are people whos inteligence far out weighs anyone on this MB, who dont believe in the entire theory of evolution. Its not necessarily a good measuring stick to decide ones intelligence.

Here are some people who believe in creationism:

Chuck Norris

Tough guy Chuck Norris has some tough words on evolution: “It’s cute. But here’s what I really think about the theory of evolution: It’s not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live. We are not creations of random chance. We are not accidents. There is a God, a Creator, who made you and me. We were made in His image, which separates us from all other creatures.”

George Washington Carver

In addition to developing 300 uses for peanuts, soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes, his method of crop rotation, which revolutionized southern agriculture. He credited the Bible with his divine guidance saying, "God made the clay in the hills; they have been there for countless generations, changeless. All I do is prepare what God has made, for uses to which man can put it. It is God's work—not mine."

Ben Stein

Ben Stein's latest movie, Expelled looks at the teaching of science in schools, so it's no surprise that this former Nixon speech writer has some clear views on creationism. He said once, "Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing."

Sarah Palin

This is a tricky one, though common thought is that Sarah Palin is indeed a creationist. Her thoughts on teaching creationism: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

Ted Haggard

Now former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, who was listed once in the top 25 most influential evangelicals in the US, and who is a big supporter of George W. Bush and was instrumental in guiding the evangelical voting base in 2004. In a British documentary calledThe Root of All Evil, Haggard said that conclusions of that method regarding the age of the earth and evolution were only the result of "some of the views that are accepted in some portions of the scientific community."

Minister to 2 million souls, Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, had this to say on his maker while promoting his book to Larry King, "It's just my basic message of becoming all God's created you to be."

Mike Huckabee

Ordained minister and former candidate Mike Huckabee is very firm in his position. Don't take my word for it, hear what he

Influential politician (he was the Democratic nominee for president at 36) and orator William Jennings Bryan (who some think John McCain's "my friends" can be traced back to) had a prominent role in the prosecution of the Scopes trial. He said, "It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages than to know the ages of rock."

Tough guy Chuck Norris has some tough words on evolution: “It’s cute. But here’s what I really think about the theory of evolution: It’s not real. It is not the way we got here. In fact, the life you see on this planet is really just a list of creatures God has allowed to live. We are not creations of random chance. We are not accidents. There is a God, a Creator, who made you and me. We were made in His image, which separates us from all other creatures.”

George Washington Carver

In addition to developing 300 uses for peanuts, soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes, his method of crop rotation, which revolutionized southern agriculture. He credited the Bible with his divine guidance saying, "God made the clay in the hills; they have been there for countless generations, changeless. All I do is prepare what God has made, for uses to which man can put it. It is God's work—not mine."

Ben Stein

Ben Stein's latest movie, Expelled looks at the teaching of science in schools, so it's no surprise that this former Nixon speech writer has some clear views on creationism. He said once, "Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing."

Sarah Palin

This is a tricky one, though common thought is that Sarah Palin is indeed a creationist. Her thoughts on teaching creationism: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

Ted Haggard

Now former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, who was listed once in the top 25 most influential evangelicals in the US, and who is a big supporter of George W. Bush and was instrumental in guiding the evangelical voting base in 2004. In a British documentary calledThe Root of All Evil, Haggard said that conclusions of that method regarding the age of the earth and evolution were only the result of "some of the views that are accepted in some portions of the scientific community."

Minister to 2 million souls, Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, had this to say on his maker while promoting his book to Larry King, "It's just my basic message of becoming all God's created you to be."

Mike Huckabee

Ordained minister and former candidate Mike Huckabee is very firm in his position. Don't take my word for it, hear what he

Influential politician (he was the Democratic nominee for president at 36) and orator William Jennings Bryan (who some think John McCain's "my friends" can be traced back to) had a prominent role in the prosecution of the Scopes trial. He said, "It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages than to know the ages of rock."

Is this list in support of creationism or evolution...I can't tell...

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Gummug 2,091

Gummug 2,091

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"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy" -- Shakespeare

Gummug 2,091

Gummug 2,091

Okay I haven't done research on any of the things you mentioned, and I'm not going to today probably, but before I do some research, may I ask you your source of information? I'd like to watch Expelled Exposed..if it was a DVD? Or was it a book? Anyway, just 'cuz Chuck Norris kicks people in the movies and on TV I don't see how that portrays him as a dummy...are Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger also dummies because they can fight? Are policemen and women dummies because they are taught to fight?

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CommunitarianKevin 443

CommunitarianKevin 443

Okay I haven't done research on any of the things you mentioned, and I'm not going to today probably, but before I do some research, may I ask you your source of information? I'd like to watch Expelled Exposed..if it was a DVD? Or was it a book? Anyway, just 'cuz Chuck Norris kicks people in the movies and on TV I don't see how that portrays him as a dummy...are Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger also dummies because they can fight? Are policemen and women dummies because they are taught to fight?

I will PM you...

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Gummug 2,091

Gummug 2,091

Poltergeist

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"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy" -- Shakespeare

I have to leave pretty soon to go watch a movie with my friend, but I'll leave you with one parting thought: Consider a single celled organism, which if my understanding of evolution is correct, is one of the first things that evolved. Wouldn't you agree that the cytoplasm cannot exist without a membrane, and also that the cell membrane would be useless without cytoplasm inside? OK, so for a functioning cell to exist, the membrane and the cytoplasm would have to have come into existence together at the same time. What are the chances of that happening without intelligence guidance? I'd say about the same as a tornado blowing through a junkyard and creating a Mercedes Benz...in other words, zilch. I'll have to take up this again tomorrow.